1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fiber superfluorescent sources and particularly to a fiber superfluorescent light source which suppresses laser oscillations without interfering with the pump light or the super luminescence.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is great interest in using fiber superfluorescent sources in fiber optic gyroscopes as a replacement for semiconductor super luminescent diodes (SLD's). Potential benefits include higher available power, better wavelength stability with temperature, and improved lifetime. Multiclad Nd:fibers pumped by a laser diode array offer high output powers in a single mode core, but are susceptible to lasing due to feedback. This type of diode laser pumped source has been successfully employed in a fiber gyroscope using a backward pumping scheme. In particular this approach avoided the backreflection of backwards going superfluorescent emission off the high reflectivity diode array facet. In addition to concern about feedback and reflections, the problem of source integration must be considered, such that an all-fiber source can be spliced into the gyro without bulk optic components.